15 Craziest Ways People Get High Around The World

When smoking pot becomes boring, a quick trip around the world will reveal 15 new ways to welcome psychedelic visions and genuine relaxation.

These crazy methods to get high are not only unusual, but also cheap, and expose you to limited legal hassle. From herbs found deep in the Amazon rainforest to exotic animals that contain sleep-inducing toxins, this list is ideal literature for anyone hoping to get wasted while traveling.

1. Sarpa Salpa Fish

Eating seafood and getting trippy for free. What more to expect from life?

The Sarpa Salpa is a type of sea bream well-known amongst junkies for its hallucinogenic properties that resemble LSD. Found in the Mediterranean waters and along the west coast of Africa, it’s a cheap thrill for those skilled enough to catch it.

The Arabs knew about the fish since ancient times, and the name translates as “the fish that makes dreams.” Why that’s a mild way of saying that it messes with your head so bad, you begin to foresee the future.

A famous “close encounter” with the magical properties of the Sarpa Salpa made one National Geographic photographer hallucinate about humanity’s space explorations before the possibility was even remotely achievable.

One thing is for sure! There are zillions crazy ways to get high out there.

2. Peyote

There is no escape! Your boss will know why you chose to go all the way down to Mexico.

Like many others before, you hope to stumble upon Peyote growing in the wild. The small, spineless cactus contains mescaline and is a free ticket for the junky express.

Indigenous Americans used it for thousands of years for their shamanic rituals. Of course, you have other things in mind. Those existential questions are begging to be addressed, and nothing puts you in the right mood like a drug handed to you by Mother Nature herself.

And the best part about Peyote is that it doesn’t have side effects or create physical dependence. Don’t trust your weird Mexican guide, confide in scientific research, and take into account that the plant is legal in most parts of the world.

Apparently, many drugs found their way under the umbrella of protecting traditions. The next one will disgust you!

3. Reindeer Pee

If drinking reindeer pee doesn’t sound as much fun, it is because you don’t know the secret.

The disgusting liquid is not a beauty trick used by Eskimo women. Various populations identified reindeer pee as being a very powerful hallucinogen, often employed in shamanic rituals.

The explanation is straightforward. Reindeer feast on the potent Fly Agaric mushroom (Amanita Muscaria) and their body can process the toxins to a form which is fit for human consumption.

There is a solution for those not so eager to dig in the warm smelly fluid. Apparently, the animal’s meat also gets impregnated with enough psychoactive substances to get you going.

Before you head north, keep in mind that the reindeer pee might help explain the Santa Klaus tradition. Someone took that extra sip, and it made him see flying reindeer pulling a sled.

Consider bothering Rudolph and the rest of the gang after they finished their holiday chores.

Stuck behind bars with a sentence that makes traveling abroad a distant dream for the following decades? Don’t despair! The next technique will teach you how to get high even when guards keep an eye on you all the time.

4. Pruno

Our journey around the world in search of crazy ways to get high takes a small detour. The jail is the last place you would think it’s possible to experience a trance.

Pruno is a cheap and risk-free alternative to smuggling drugs. The worst that can happen to you if you get caught is have it confiscated.

You need simple ingredients to make Pruno, and they would never raise suspicions. Inmates typically use apples, oranges, candy, ketchup, sugar, milk, and even crumbled bread. The scope is to put everything in a bag and allow fermentation to occur.

Depending on luck, you can end up with a beverage with as much as 14% alcohol content. But it doesn’t end there. A mysterious chemical phenomenon will cause you more than delusions and a severe hangover.

It’s worth to try Pugno, despite the pungent smell. It might be the only way to keep you sane and give you moments of pure freedom.

We will go back to nature for other secrets only long-haired hipsters know.

5. Belladonna

Belladonna means “beautiful woman” in Italian. However, it also helps to know that the plant goes by the name of deadly nightshade. Mostly found throughout Europe and North America, the effects it induces to the casual user can vary very widely.

The best thing that can happen to you after eating Belladonna leaves or berries is getting high like you never experienced before. The first observable effect is dilated pupils, a trick used by Renaissance beauties to appear even more seductive.

Keep in mind that going beyond a particular dosage can kill you. The Belladonna plant has been in use as a poison since Roman times. To make things even scary, archers would tip their arrowheads to poison the wounds.

But you should be just fine in the hands of your day-time botanist and free time shaman. If you survive Belladonna, you might not be that lucky with the next crazy way to get high.

6. Sapo Venom Burns

When you are stuck with the Amazonian rainy season for weeks in a row, you have to come up with ways of entertaining yourself.

The first step is to catch one or two Sapo frogs and stress them enough for their bodies to secrete venom. Contrary to what you might expect, the venom appears all over their skin and needs a careful harvest.

What follows next is a bit gruesome. You need someone else to poke small burns on your body where the Sapo venom is allowed to enter the bloodstream. We are talking about incisions as small as a pimple, but deep enough to reach capillaries.

The Sapo Venom Burns profoundly alters the body’s normal responses, typically increasing acuity and improving the senses. Natives of the Amazonian forest go beyond the recreational purpose and use the technique to make jungle hunting more efficient.

We are just getting started. The next cheap thrill is considered to be nature’s most potent drug.

7. Ayahuasca

When the first European missionaries venturing in the Amazonian forest experienced the Ayahuasca, they call it the work of the devil.

For us modern people, Ayahuasca is one of the many great ways to get high for free and without ending up behind bars. To experience it, you need to head out for Colombia, Peru, or Brazil, countries that still have primeval forest hiding all sorts of goodies.

Of course, you might have heard various stories about tourists and their Ayahuasca-related experience. Dying while on vacation is the worst that can happen. However, the most common side-effect is a lengthy session of vomiting.

Like with all non-mainstream drugs, getting high on Ayahuasca depends on the skills of your shaman. Things typically go beyond control when more plants are added to the mix, increasing the uncertainties. Just to be on the safe side, ask the man with the painted face for the standard procedure.

Up next, you will learn how to get high from the comfort of your kitchen.

8. Nutmeg

Who would have thought that something as innocent as nutmeg can put your body and mind in an altered state?

Native to the Moluccas islands, nutmeg has become a staple ingredient for various cookies and cakes. The fun part starts when you ingest more than a tablespoon.

However, nutmeg is a drug hard to work it. First, you need to eat a considerable quantity, which depends on previous processing and storing conditions. The side effects are very nasty and include a heavy hangover and gastrointestinal problems.

Once you get past that, the mind can go from fear and anxiety to full-blown delirium. It’s useful to know that the effectiveness of nutmeg relies on your body’s ability to process it.

Sometimes it takes as long as 48 hours to get things moving in the wanted direction. Where will you be when the nutmeg kicks in?

Let’s move on to another cheap way of getting high, one that animal lovers will adore.

9. Catnip

Did you catch your cat taking over your hidden cannabis stash? It’s time for payback.

Seeing their feline friends go mad after catnip made some humans curious. And what they found out was wonderful. It seems that the inexpensive plant everyone can grow at home has hallucinogenic properties.

We will be square with you. Don’t get your expectations high. While catnip can cause intense visual stimulation, you need to smoke a large quantity of it and for an extended period.

The craziest part about replacing your local drug-dealer with regular visits to the pet shop is that you can get high alongside your cats. Just be aware that feuds for the catnip flowerpot can reveal the worst of you.

11. Chaliponga

Chaliponga is another plant native to the Amazonian rainforest that can get you high cheaper than the drugs you already know.

While the official name of Diplopterys Cabrerana might bore you to death, you would be happy to know that the magic Chaliponga leaves go well in a mixture with something you are already familiar – Ayahuasca.

We don’t know what the South American soil contains, but it’s easy to suspect why most religious books depict Paradise as a lush tropical garden. Can you imagine Adam and Eve smoking pot all day long and ignoring God’s plans for them?

Like all other unusual ways to get high on the list, Chaliponga is at the tipping point between legal and illegal. It’s always better when the neighbors don’t know a thing.

12. Snake Venom

There is an invisible line separating the adverse effects of venom from its fun and trippy side.

Snake venom follows the same recipe. In small quantities and administered under controlled conditions, it gives you a euphoric sensation that can last for many days in a row.

However, don’t get too excited. Stepping on venomous snakes just to make them bite your way into a never-ending fantasy is a bad idea. The venom of some species is so powerful it can turn the lights off for you in under 30 minutes.

But that idea is far from scaring hobbits. Treatments based on snake venom are famous for their anti-aging properties and for helping the body improve its immunity response.

You will never guess the crazy way people get wrecked in Nepal! Sweet and dangerous at the same time.

13. Mad Honey

Tired of going through the forest in search of the psychedelic plants? We completely understand you.

Let the bees do the hard work and settle for collecting the magic honey instead. However, you have to go all the way to Nepal to show your gratitude to the Himalayan Bees, the only species capable of processing the toxins.

Foraging poisonous flowers and producing hallucinogenic honey is one of the wonders of nature. It’s safe to consider a beehive the equivalent of a crystal meth lab.

Just take a look at the photo above. Members of the Gurung tribe are so obsessed with mad honey that they often risk their lives. Smoke and weak bamboo supporting structures are dangerous steps towards tasting the dream-inducing elixir.

You will be glad to know it’s much easier to get your hands on the next recreative drug widely found in nature.

14. Ergot Fungus

The ergot fungus is a common occurrence on grains. However, few farmers are aware of its potent hallucinogenic effects.

Meddling scientist documented the side-effects of eating molding grain relatively late. The most common belief is that the ergot was responsible for the witch-hunt that swept through the American colonies many centuries ago.

You could call ergot a form of food poisoning, but that would ruin all the fun. Alcohol, tobacco, and traditional drugs, all of them are poisonous for the body, which strives to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

In moderate quantities, ergot induces mania, delirium, and strange visions. Go beyond what the herb man prescribed, and you will experience the nasty side. Vomiting and convulsions are first signs that you took too much. Ergot overdose leads to gangrenes and eventually death.

One more crazy way to get wasted and we’re done.

15. Meduna’s Mixture

Getting high couldn’t have been easier than this. There is a way to put your body in panic mode while risking nothing in the process.

Meduna’s Mixture (also called Carbogen) is a combination of 70% carbon dioxide and 30% oxygen that has a rather unusual purpose. Carbogen helps desensitize people by turning down their anxieties. However, euphoria builds in in parallel with the calming sensation.

You will be thrilled to know Meduna developed the gas as a way of testing how patients would respond when administered various drugs. A couple of decades ago psychotherapy was far from being cute.

Carbogen was in high demand in places like Arkham Asylum just to keep profoundly deranged people under control, until the hippies discovered it as an excellent way to get high.